OSHA’s Region V Area Office in Peoria, Illinois responded quickly to protect workers and others
after two tornadoes stuck Springfield, Illinois on March 12, 2006. The tornadoes caused extensive
damage and created hazardous working conditions for contractors and workers engaged in cleanup,
repair, and reconstruction operations.

The morning after the tornadoes touched down, Becky Styron, a Compliance Safety and Health Officer
with the Peoria Area Office, met with the city’s emergency response officials and accompanied them
on a tour of the damaged areas. They saw numerous downed electrical lines, piles of debris, and
extensive damage to residential and commercial buildings. Ms. Styron, a member of the Local
Emergency Planning Committee, observed that while larger companies performing cleanup and repair
work were generally using appropriate safety precautions, many small contractors were not following
proper safety procedures.

Based on these observations of the extensive damage and hazardous working conditions, the Peoria
Area Office sent six people to Springfield’s Emergency Operation Center on March 14 to offer
assistance. The OSHA team met with Springfield’s Assistant Police Chief, who was acting as the
city’s Incident Commander (IC). The OSHA officials explained that they would offer technical
assistance for work related to the tornado and would not issue citations during the initial
emergency response. The IC asked the OSHA officials to help ensure the safety of city employees
working on tornado response activities.

"We sent teams of safety professionals to Springfield to advise contractors and others on safe work
practices," said OSHA’s Peoria Area Office Director John Newquist. "We approached workers who were
exposed to falls, working with chain saws, wood chippers and electrical equipment, and reminded them
of the safety hazards associated with their activities."

The OSHA team split into two groups to focus on the two hardest hit areas of the city. From March
14-17, the teams conducted 92 interventions to address hazardous working conditions and identified
151 hazards that affected over 600 employees. Most employers agreed to get proper equipment or
otherwise protect their workers. Some of the hazards identified by the OSHA teams included fall
hazards from aerial lifts and roofs, electrical hazards, working from the bucket of a front-end
loader, working in damaged structures, lack of hard hats, lack of proper personal protective
equipment for workers using chain saws, and cranes that were not properly set up.

For example, one OSHA team member talked with a crew cutting a fallen tree and discovered that the
crew did not have hearing protection, chaps, or eye and face protection. The crew called its office
to report OSHA’s recommendations and agreed to get the proper protective equipment. Another OSHA
team member showed workers who were using aerial lifts how to wear body harnesses. At an
intervention at a building with a collapsed roof, an OSHA team member discussed the need to have the
breakers off in case of power restoration and warned about electrical hazards from fallen power
lines.

The Area Office continued its outreach efforts after the initial emergency response by providing
free training sessions to 22 contractors at a local community college on April 4 and 5, 2006. The
contractors learned how to avoid unsafe conditions during tornado cleanup and repair work and
received refresher training on safe construction work practices.

OSHA received positive coverage in the local media for its assistance during the tornado response
and cleanup activities. The Springfield Star Journal newspaper provided coverage and local
television stations ran spots on the daily media briefings. During one briefing, the Mayor of
Springfield thanked OSHA for its assistance in protecting workers and others. At another briefing,
Congressman Ray Lahood (R-IL) and Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) expressed their appreciation for OSHA’s
efforts and the city’s Director of Public Works noted that OSHA’s presence helped ensure that no
Public Works employees were injured during the initial response.